Orel Hershiser: Up Close and Personal

Orel Hershiser: Up Close and Personal is not really a biography of Orel Hershiser, although it does discuss his life. This is a rather short little book published by Here's Life Publishers in 1989 for the purpose of spreading the gospel, primarily to boys and young men interested in baseball, by offering examples of salvation's positive effects on successful baseball players. Orel Hershiser had just finished an amazing season: he had set a Major League record by throwing fifty-nine consecutive scoreless innings, he had won the Cy Young Award, and he had been named the MVP of the World Series. The baby-faced pitching phenom seemed to have come out of nowhere, but he had actually spent a number of frustrating years in the minor leagues before ever being called up to the Dodgers. This book describes Hershiser's decision to become a Christian at age 21 and shows how important this decision was in allowing him to achieve the incredible success he enjoyed in 1988. Hershiser is quoted extensively on his faith in God, making him an excellent role model for youngsters then and now. The book includes two additional sections following the Hershiser story. The first one describes the important role that Branch Rickey's Christian faith played in giving him the courage and strength to begin to desegregate Major League baseball; Rickey is the man who signed Jackie Robinson to a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers just after the end of World War II. The final entry is a purely religious message from former Yankee Bobby Richardson; after describing the thrill of his completely unexpected Grand Slam in the 1960 World Series, he goes on to tell readers about his Grand Slam in life, which was his decision to become a Christian. Orel Hershiser: Up Close and Personal, written by Bill Horlacher & Joe Smalley, was probably distributed for the most part by interested coaches or parents among young baseball players. Hershiser was incredibly popular at the time of publication, making this a good means for attracting youngsters' attention to Christianity. Today, of course, many youngsters probably don't know who Hershiser was, but this is still a nice little book to have. It is definitely a Christian publication, it is important to note.